1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a paper towel dispenser device. Furthermore, the present invention concerns a paper towel dispenser wherein an alert signal carried out by the device is activated when there are a few towels left; thus, a new paper towel roll can be placed before the old roll runs out of the towels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,191 discloses a paper towel dispenser in which there are, simultaneously, a primary reel and a reserve reel that transfer the supply of the towels from the primary reel to the reserve reel by means of a mechanism that works upon the tension of the sheet provided by the towels.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,069 discloses a device that consists of an indicator that alerts that the paper reserve is low.
The difference between the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,509 and the present invention is in the '509 reference the reserve reel must be collocated inside the dispenser in a predetermined location in order to provide for towels when there are still some towels left in the primary reel. On the contrary, in the present invention, the original reel is replaced directly by the new reel when there are very few towels left in the original reel, after the alert signal indicates that the supply of towels is low. This process is carried out without changing the position of the reels as in the aforementioned patent and moreover, without displacing parts of the mechanism in order to thread the new reel.
Furthermore, in the invention of the '509 patent, the new threading is produced by a lack of tension in the portion of paper that is found between the primary reel and the supplying towel mechanism, which makes the threading to be produced automatically also when that paper portion is cut—which occurs frequently—. On the contrary in the present invention the indication of a low supply of paper is produced when the diameter of the reel reaches a lower level than a predetermined level.